Apparatus for establishing a standard cranial point of orientation



Dec. 7, 1937. E, Wt SNELL 2,101,105

APPARATUS FOR ESTABLISHING A STANDARD CRANIAL POINT OF CRIENTATION Filed NOV. 17, 1933 co. 6. fJNVENTOR. f5 han? WSA/lm .Ti O

Patented Dec. 7, 1937 TES UNiTso Ars orgies ABPABATUS FOR ESTABLISHING A STAND- ARD CRANIAL PONT F ORENTATION v Edgar W. Snell, San Francisco, Calif. Application November 17, 1933,Seiial No. 698,529

13 Claims.

A further object of the invention is to make it e the apparatus being shown inside elevation, andV the methodV being also illustrated;

Figure 2 a horizontal section Vand part plan view of my apparatus as viewed from line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 a iront View of my apparatus;

Figure 4 .a fragmentary top plan View of a rear portion of my apparatus;

Figure 5 an enlarged side elevation of a stabilizer used in'connection with my invention; and

Figure 6 an end view of the stabilizer.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, I wish to have it understood that various changes or modications may be made within the scope of the claims hereto attached y without departing from the spirit of the invention. .'35 To fix a cranial point of orientation, I first cause the head to assume a fixed position, and then establish kthree diiferent planes, the horizontal plane of the pupils of the eyes, a median vertical plane between the pupils of the eyes and a transverse Vertical plane defined by the glabella (the most anterior part of the forehead) andthe point at which these three plans meet ismy cranial point of orientation from which the different measurements desired may be taken.

The apparatus used for this purpose is illustrated in the drawing, and comprisesl a. hori-`V zontal platform I having suitable means indi,- cated at 2 for raising and loweringthe same, and having ,a mirror 3 mounted vertically on the front portion thereof, 'while a light chamber l is mounted on the rear portion of the platform and is provided with a light 5 and an opening 6 through which light rays may pass toward the mirror. The mirror itself is formed with a horizontal slot 1. Two boxes 8 and 9 are inter- CFI.

posed between the mirror and the light chamber,V and these boxes are disposed on opposite Asides of a vertical median plane passing through the center of the mirror and the center of the light. The two boxes are mounted on'wheels I0 adapted to ride on transverse rails II, and the two boxes may be moved in opposite directions toward and away from the vertical median line of the apparatus by means of the screws I2 mounted in bearings I3 and threadedly engaging nuts I4 secured to the boxes respectively, the screws beingV threaded in opposite directions on opposite sides of the median plane. One of the screws may be operated manually by the handle I5, while the same movement is transmitted to the other screw through the chain I5. The two boxes are interconnected byA expansible closures in the nature of hinged gates Il which prevent the light from passing through the space between the Yboxes irrespective of the distance between the boxes. Each box comprises a front end piece I8, a rear end piece I9, and intermediate partitions 2|) and 2|, and the end-pieces and the partitions are formed with horizontal slots 22, which lie in the same horizontal plane with the slot 1 in the mirror, all the slots being narrow, preferably T15- of an inch in height. Sliding gates 23 are provided in connection with at least some ci the partitions whereby the slots may be covered up.

It will be noted that the slots do not commence immediately adjacent the inner walls of the boxes, and small sections 24 are left immediately v adjacent the inner wall of the box through which the slotsedo not extend. These small sections are provided with small perforations 25, which are also inv alignment with one another, and lie in the horizontal plane of the slots in the mirror Y' and in the boxes respectively, so that they may be viewed by a person looking through the slot in the mirror provided they are made to register with the eyes of the person. e

The two boxes may be locked in adjusted position by means of a slotted member 26 secured on top of one rof the boxes as at 21, and projecting over the other box and adapted to slidably receive a bolt 28 projecting from `the other box and to be clamped to the latter by means of a wing nut 29. Eachfof the boxes has also secured to its top a clip 3i? which projects over the light housing and is formed with a perforation 3| lying in the same vertical plane as the perforations 25 so that after the distance between. the perforations 25 has been established, a piece of paper 32 may be placed'under the clips 30 and punctured through theperforations 3| so as to give a permanent record of the spacing between the perforations 25. A stop 32 positions the paper.

The mirror 3 has a standard 33 rising vertically therefrom, and a bar 3l! extends horizontally from the standard and has a pendulum 35 pivoted thereto as shown at 36. The upper end of the pendulum is pointed as at 31. and adapted to ride over a scale 3B, the pendulum being in a vertical position when the pointer points to the center of the scale as shown in the drawing. The pendulum 35 has an arm 35 projecting forwardly therefrom and this arm is weighted as at lll) to urge the lower portion of the pendulum in a forward direction.

The bar 35 also serves as a supporting means for two arms Si extending horizontally in opposite directions, each arm having, at equal spacing from the median plane, a pendulum 42 suspended therefrom as at S, each pendulum being actuated by a weight 44, to swing toward the median plane, and each pendulum being provided with a pointer i5 riding over a scale 46 by means of which a desired portion may be established.

In addition to the device thus far described I preferably use in my method a stabilizer illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, which may be formed integral with a cap fil', the latter preferably being in the nature of a bathing cap. The stabilizer which may be secured to the cap by means of two intersecting metal straps 48 curved to the curvature of the human head, comprises a platform 9 xed to the straps, a second platform pivoted at one end to ears 5I rising from the first platform, and held in adjusted relation relative to the other end of the platform by means of a bolt 52, a wing nut 53 and a spring 54 interposed between the two platforms. A third platform 55 is secured to the second platform in a similar manner but for transverse movement by means of the ears 56 at one end and the bolt 51, the spring 58, and the wing nut 59 at the other end. This third platform has mounted thereon, preferably with freedom of revolving motion a frame having two spaced arms 6I and 52 revolvably supporting a shaft 53, having a calibrated wheel 64 thereon adapted to register with a point 55 on one of the arms 62. The shaft 63 has pivotally supported thereon a pointer 64' supporting a magnetic compass 65 at its lower end terminating in a quadrant pointer 66 at its upper end, the latter being adapted to ride A over a scale 5l, provided on a cross piece 68 supported between the arms 6| and 62. In order to place the stabilizer in the same position on the head at a subsequent time, a pencil mark may be made on the cap and on the head so that when the cap is again placed on the head the cap mark may be brought into the same relative position with the head mark as it formerly occupied.

To carry out the method I rst raise the platform l so that the slot 'l approximately corresponde to the horizontal eye plane of the patient. I. then cause the patient to step in place in the manner shown in Figure 1, with his face directed toward the mirror and spaced therefrom by about eighteen inches. I now cause theV patient to stand in upright position with his arms hanging down freely, and cause him to close his 4eyes and to turn down his head as if to look at the oor. The patient raises his head with his eyes still closed until he thinks that his eyes are directed toward the distant horizon. I have found by experiment that a person may perform this operation any number of times, and will always iind that at the end of the operation his head is in substantially the same position.

The patient now opens the eyes and looks at the mirror. If by looking toward the mirror he nds that the pupils of his eyes see the light 5 through the narrow slot 1, the device is in the correct position. If the slot 'I is either above or below the correct position, the operator lowers or raises the platform l until the slot l and the light 5 are in the correct position, and may be seen by the patient in alignment with the pupils of his eyes. 'I'he slots 22 in the ends and the partitions of the boxes are all in alignment with the slot l, and serve the purpose of eliminating stray light rays so that only those rays emanating directly from the light toward the slot l are observed by the patient. After the apparatus has thus been adjusted to the proper elevation, the slot 'l and the slots 22 establish the horizontal plane of the pup-ils of the eyes of the patient.

The next operation serves the purpose of bringing the head into proper position relative to the median vertical plane of the apparatus. For this purpose the slots 22 in the box are covered up by means of the slides 23, and the two boxes 8 and 9 are separated by means of the screws l2 until the holes or apertures 25 previously described are brought into alignment with the pupils of the eyes of the patient, which operation, of course, may require not only an adjustment of the two vboxes to make the distance between the apertures 25 register with the distance between the pupils of the patients eyes, but also adjustment of the head of the patient to bring the same in the proper position relative to the median vertical plane of the apparatus. The openings 6 of the light chamber are preferably covered by windows of different colors such as red and green to facilitate orientation of the patient.

After this operation has been performed the head has been adjusted so as to cause its median plane to coincide withthe median vertical plane of the apparatus, and the operator now proceeds to establish the third plane, namely a transverse vertical plane defined by the glabella, the most anterior part of the forehead. To establish this plane, the patient positions his forehead in the manner illustrated in Figure 1 against the lower end of the pendulum 35, and advances the latter against the. opposition of the weight 4i! until the pendulum occupies a vertical position as may be ascertained from the position of the pointer on the scale, The purpose of the weight is to give a standard compression of the soft tissues in front of the glabella so that the transverse plane coincides as nearly as possible with the actual front portion of the skull.

The three planes thus established, namely the horizontal plane of the pupils, the median plane of the pupils, and the transverse plane of the glabella, meet at a point within the skull shown at 59, and this is the cranial point of orientation which it is the object of my invention to establish.

For slight corrections of the head posture, I

may use the additional apparatus illustrated in Figures 3, 5 and 6. The apparatus shown in Figure 3 may be. used for controlling slight side motions of the head which might be made by the patient without losing sight of the slot 'l because the latter naturally has to have a certain width weighted pendulums 42 Vplaced against the sides of the head seem rto'successfully eliminate suchV side movements. .Cross hairs such as are used in surveyorsV tools, transits, etc. placed in the slots would accomplish the same purpose but according to my experiments registrations 4obtained by the aid Aof the weighted pendulums are very satisfactory. The weighted pendulums 42 also aid in establishing the median plane of the pupils where the patientV has only rone good eye. The boxes 8 and 9 areV adjusted until the proper aperture is brought into alignment with the one good eye. The side pendulums 42 cause the head to assume a vertical position and take the place of the badeye.

For further improving the results, I preferably also use the stabilizer shown in Figures 5 and 6 whichY may be adjusted by means of the wing nuts 53 Vand 59 to bring the wheel 5G and the pointer 54 into central positions relative to their respective scales so that any movement of the Y head made after adjustment will be immediately Y apparent Yto 'the operator.

The stabilizer is also provided with a magnetic compass 65 to advise the operator. of any turning .movement carried out by the head after adjustment. The stabilizer is also used for accurately positioning the persons head in the same. position it occupied with reference to the device onfa previous occasion. The three scales lying in three different planes permit accurateadjustment to be made. I

My method of and apparatus for establishing the cranialrpoint of orientation may be rendered useful in many different Ways to establish certain desired measurements of the human cranium, and one simple method is illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawing.

It is assumed in this drawing that it is desired to fix different points of the occlusal plane relative to the cranial point of orientation. For this purpose I have the patient take a bite, the bite 'lo having a fixed arm 'Il extending therefrom and a receptacle l2 being fixed relative toy the apparatus in such Va manner that the end of the arm li extends thereinto. After the head has been positioned in the manner'shown in Figure 1, the container 'f2 islledfwith plaster of Paris to holdV the arm 'H in the'xed position. If the head is now carefully removed `from the position shown in Figure l, the bite 'lo remains in exactly the same position. The operator may then proceed by any suitable vmeans to physically xthe point of orientation Vdened by the three planes previously referred to, andmay then take the desired measurementsras indicated bythe dotted lines. In a similar manner a plaster mask might be applied to the outside of the head, and fixed in place so that upon removal of the head desired dimensions or measurements might be made from the established point of orientation. In either case the patient may subsequently place his head in the same position formerly occupied. yIn the first instance the patient by again taking the bite in his mouth would reposition his head exactly where it formerly was. In the' second instance, the placing of the patients head in the Vcast would accomplish the same purpose.

It is obvious that other markings could be resorted to. If desired, of course, the bite might be removed to another place, 'and the point of orientation located and physically fixed at such other place by means of data obtained from the apparatus.

It should be noted from Figure 4 that a magnetic needle'69 is mounted on top of the device for the purpose of orientating the machine.

-The pivot points 43 can be bolts adjustably mounted in slots 43 so as to accommodate heads ofv diiferentwidths ybetween the pendulums 42. Scales, not shown, may be placed on the arms 4| adjacent to theslots to facilitate the positioning of the pendulums. It will also be noted that the portionsof the pendulums and 42, contacting with the head, are provided with rollers 35. 'Ihe device does not rotate when the screw 2 is actuated for raising or lowering it. After the device has been moved vertically intoI the desired position by the screw 2, it may be rigidly connected to the screw by a small set screw, not shown, and in this way the device is held against rotation while it is being used. It is obviouspas has already been set forth, that the point of orientation in thecranium can be obtained if the person has Vonly one eye instead of two. In this event the horizontal plane will pass through the'good eye and the vertical plane will also pass through the samejeye. The transverse front plate will be insthe'same position as thatoccupied when the point of orientation is midway bel m tween the' two eyes.

I claim: Y

1. An apparatus for establishing a cranial point of orientation comprising a platform, means for raising and lowering Ythe same, a mirror arranged vertically on the platform and having a horizontal slottherein, a light chamber rearwardly of the mirror and spaced therefrom and having a light opening toward the mirror, and a box interposed between the mirror andY the light chamber and having slots in horizontal alinehaving means for uniformly moving the same in opposite directions median plane.`

3. An apparatus for establishing a cranial point of orientation-comprising a platform, means for. raising and lowering the same, a mirror arranged vertically on the platform and having a toward or away from the horizontal slot therein, a light chamber rearwardly of the mirror and spaced therefrom and having a light opening toward the mirror, and a pair of boxes interposed between the mirror and the light chamber on opposite sides of a vertical median plane, each box having a series of alined eye hoies in the plane of the slot and the boxes having means for uniformly moving the same in opposite directions toward or away from the median plane, with expansible means for closing the space between'the boxes to the rays of the light chamber.

4. An apparatus for 'establishing a cranial.V

point of orientation comprising a'platform, means for raising and-lowering the same, a mirror arranged vertically on the platform` andy having a horizontal slot therein, a light chamber rearwardly of the mirror and spaced therefrom and having a light opening toward the mirror, and a pair of boxes interposed between the mirror and the light chamber on opposite sides of a median vertical plane, each box having slots in horizontal alinement with the slots of the mirror and means for covering the slots, each box also having a series of alined eye holes in the plane of the mirror slot, and means for uniformly moving the bores in opposite directions toward or away from the median vertical plane.

5. In an apparatus for establishing a cranial p int er" orientation, means for determining the horizontal plane oi the eyes and comprising a support, a vertical mirror carried thereby and having a slot extending horizontally across the e and means connected to the support for slot into the plane of the real and reilected pupils or" the eyes of a person looking into the mirror.

6. in an apparatus for establishing a cranial point of orientation, means for determining the horizontal plane oi the eyes and comprising a support, a vertical mirror carried thereby and having a horizontal slot thereacross with a light behind the slot, and means connected to the support for raising and lowering the mirror for ringing the slot into the plane of the real and reflected pupils of the eyes of a person looking into the mirror;

7. in an apparatus for establishing a cranial point oi orientation, means for determining the horizontal plane of the eyes and the median vertical plane between the eyes, said means comprising a support, a vertical mirror carried thereby having a horizontal slot thereacross with a light behind the slot, and a pair of members mounted on the support and on opposite sides of a median vertical plane of the apparatus and movable in a horizontal plane in opposite directions at equal speeds and having holes moving in the line of the slot and transversely to the line of sight for positioning the head of the person reiative to the median plane when the holes are the same distance apart as the pupils of the eyes.

An apparatus for establishing a cranial point of orientation comprising a support, a vertical mirror carried thereby, and having a horizontal slot thereacross with a light behind the slot, means connected to the support for raising lowering the mirror for bringing the slot into the plane of the real and reected pupils of the eyes or a person looking into the mirror, a pair o members mounted on the support and at opposite sides of a median vertical plane of the apparatus and movable in a horizontal plane and in opposite directions, said members having holes moving in the line of the slot, and transversely to the line of sight for positioning the head of person relative to the median plane when the holes are the same distance apart as the pupils of the eyes, and means carried by the support tor establishing a frontal transverse plane of the head, that extends at right angles to the median plane, and to the horizontal plane.

9. An apparatus for establishing a cranial point of orientation comprising a support, a vertical rnirror carried thereby, and having a horizontal slot thereacrossV with a light behind the slot, means connected to the support for raising and lowering the mirror for bringing the slot into the plane of the real and reflected pupils of the the and lowering the mirror for bringing the eyes of a person looking into the mirror, a pair of members mounted on the support and at opposite sides of a median vertical plane of the apparatus and movable in a horizontal plane and in opposite directions, said members having holes moving in the lineV of the slot, and transversely to the line of sight for positioning the head of a person relative to the medianV plane when the holes are the same distance apart as the pupils of the eyes, and means carried by the support bearing against the glabella under predetermined pressure for establishing a frontal transverse plane of the head that extends at right angles to the median plane and to the horizontal plane. l0. An apparatus for establishing a cranial point of orientation in three planes and comprising a support, a horizontal'indicator, means secured to the support for positioning the horizontal indicator level with the eyes for establishing a horizontal plane, means on the support for positioning the eyes equal distances from a vertical median plane, and means connected with the support for establishing a transverse frontal plane, the intersection of these three planes determining the cranial point of orientation.

il. An apparatus for establishing a cranial point of orientation in three planes and comprising a support, a horizontal indicator, means secured to the support for positioning the horizontal indicator level with the eyes for establishing a horizontal plane, means on the support for posiiioning the eyes equal distances from a vertical median plane, and means connected with the support for establishing a transverse frontal plane, the intersection of these three planes determining the cranial point of orientation, said second named means having means associated therewith for indicating any slight side tilt to the head and for compressing the soft tissues at the sides of the head.

l2. An apparatus for establishing a cranial point of orientation in three planes and comprising a support, a horizontal indicator, means secured to the support for positioning the horizontal indicator level with the eyes for establishing a horizontal plane, means on the support for positioning the eyes equal distances from a vertical median plane, and means connected with the support for establishing a transverse frontal plane, the intersection of these three planes determining the cranial point of orientation, said second named means having means associated therewith for indicating any slight side tilt to the head and for compressing the soft tissues at the sides of the head, the means for establishing the transverse frontal plane having means associated therewith for compressing the soit tissues at the front of the head.

13. An apparatus for establishing a cranial point of orientation in three planes and comprising a support, a horizontal indicator, means secured to the support for positioning the horizontal indicator level with the pupil oi an eye, means on the support for establishing a vertical plane so as tol pass through the same pupil, and means connected with the support for establishing a transverse frontal plane, the intersection of these three planes determining the cranial point of orientation.

EDGAR W. SNELL. 

